If you don’t know the typical procedures of a theatrical
production, the Stage Manager files a report of each day’s activities. This
report gets sent to all of the people and all of the departments involved. That
way, everyone is on the same page when it comes to knowing what needs to be
done. Here’s a sample of that day’s report:
A Class Act
Rehearsal Report
Monday, July 2, 2012
*please respond to notes by e-mail
General:
1. We are planning on having an actor crossover backstage
between the set wall and the theatre wall.
a.
Sets – is this a problem with cross-bracing? Is
there anything at “person” height attaching the set to the architecture?
b.
Lights – will we have a problem run-lighting
this?
c.
Lights – will there be any lighting booms in the
way of this?
2. As of right now, we’re planning on running the show at
3:00p Tuesday, 3:30p Thursday, 3:00p Friday, and 3:00p Saturday.
3. We will have a production meeting in Collins House on
Wednesday at 12:05p.
Sets:
1. See General #1.
2. You can take the mirrors after our run on Tuesday (5:30p
– 6:00p). We would like them back for our run on Thursday (3p).
Props:
1. The Louis Vuitton bag needs a framework of some kind so
that the bag stays “up” when it sits on the ground unsupported. The Urn still
needs to fit inside of it.
2. Please ADD: a small suitcase/overnight bag for Marvin (pg
91).
3. Please ADD: Sheet Music for Marvin’s pocket (coat pocket?)
(pg 91).
4. The sample version of the accordion-style contract is too
long, but that’s the image we’re looking for. It should be fabric reinforced in
order to not rip apart while being manipulated like a scarf.
5. The carton of cigarettes is never opened.
6. Please ADD: a Small Tray for the Cup & Pill (pg 12).
Costumes:
1. Please see Props #1 – 3.
2. Will Marvin have a jacket for his entrance on pg 91 (“I
came in on the red-eye from L.A.”)?
3. Fittings for Tuesday are as follows:
a.
Robbie @ 10:45a
b.
Marie @ 1:30p
c.
Anya @ 2:15p
Sound:
1. The “Paris” sound cue (pg 79) needs to be trimmed. The
intro is currently too long.
Lights:
1. See General #1.
Company Management
None.
Press & Marketing:
1. Margaret will be joining Bob on his lunch break at 12:30p
tomorrow (Tuesday) for an interview.
***End of Rehearsal Report
The only other noteworthy thing that happened was that our
choreographer Michael C reminded me that he would like to have a dance
break in “Broadway Boogie-Woogie” for Rachael (“Lucy”) and Eddie (“Michael
Bennett”) to perform and wondered if I could supply him with some music for
this.
I thought that the music should be dictated by the dance
moves, so I suggested that he come up with whatever moves he would like the
actors to do and I would come up with music to support it. After lunch he came
up with a combination and I video recorded it onto my iPhone. So my assignment
for Tuesday was to compose the music.
-----
On Tuesday July 3rd we began with a 45 min
cleanup of some of the little musical things that have been resistant to my
fixes. These included endings of words like ‘t’ and ‘s’ that weren’t occurring
together, missed harmonies and wrong lyrics. It’s not unusual for such inaccuracies
to crop up as the actors merge their choreography and stage movement with their
vocal performance. At 10:45 we worked on “Broadway Boogie Woogie”. I came up
with the music for the dance break. I tried to keep it simple because I didn’t
want to overshadow the original music that Ed Kleban wrote- I just wanted to
complement it. Michael was pleased with the additional music. At 11:15, Anya
and Ross worked on “Making Up Ways” and “The Next Best Thing To Love” with Bob
and myself while Michael took the others outside to clean up the choreography
to “One”.
Speaking of “One”: this is not generally known, but when one
requests the rights to perform A CHORUS LINE, one must also purchase Michael
Bennett’s original dance choreography. Well-known material like “One” has
specific choreography that must be used in order to maintain the integrity of
the show. We are fortunate that BTG’s sister production of ACL is using this
choreography already, so our actors will also look very authentic. Linda Kline had mentioned to us at
dinner that Michael Bennett’s estate attorney had to agree to the usage of ACL
material in A CLASS ACT. Linda felt it was necessary to include this material
in the show since it was Ed’s big break.
After lunch, the stage movement for scenes between Lehman
Engel and Ed was fixed. We also worked on the “Nightmare” sequence that takes
place after Ed wins the Tony for ACL. Bob and Michael decided to take advantage
of the mirror walls on stage following “One” as Ed’s hopes for his own musical
projects go spiraling downward. We ran the show once again at 3pm.
-----
You’d think that Wednesday July 4th would be a
day off- but we were a production that would be starting previews in one week.
So no holiday for us!
Just what is a ‘preview’, you may ask? Previews are
basically the way to provide a show with a soft opening. Openings occur on
Saturday evenings. Previews begin several days in advance of opening. (On and
off-Broadway, a show may be in preview for a significantly longer period of
time.) The show is performed in front of audience with the understanding that
it is still getting its legs. There may be a technical glitch, a forgotten line,
an unforeseen problem that occurs. The ticket price is lowered for the preview
period.
Here was our busy schedule for the day, which lasted 30
minutes longer than usual due to a lunchtime production meeting:
SCHEDULE (7/4)
10:00-11:00: Work "Scintillating Sophie",
"Next Best Thing to Love" (Ross, Anya)
10:50: *ADD FULL CAST
11:00-12:00: Work Show Notes (FULL CAST)
12:00-1:30: Lunch Break,
Production Meeting at Collins House
1:30-2:15: Work the Nightmare (FULL CAST)
2:15-3:00: Review "Charm Song" and "Friday's
at Four" (FULL CAST)
3:00-4:00: Review and Work Act I Scene 1 "Light on My
Feet" (FULL CAST)
4:00-4:30: Stage Curtain Call (FULL CAST)
4:30-6:30: Work Show Notes (FULL CAST)
We had a lot of dance/stage movement cleanup planned because
Michael Callahan would be leaving us once we began tech. There was no run
planned for the day, but we will definitely run the show on Thursday, Friday
and Saturday afternoon.
One of the items that came up during our weekly production
meeting was my reminder to David Murin (our wonderful costume designer) that he
had planned on costuming me since I was appearing on stage during the Act One
BMI Lehman Engel Workshop sequence. He had forgotten about it, so he set up a
costume measurement appointment for me for the following day. (It will take
place at Dunlap since David and his staff will be present at 10am for an actors
rehearsal with the winter clothing which they wear at the top of Act One.) I
also would be choosing an appropriate bench for my piano with the Props
department on Thursday morning.
